Like this post? Share it!

Yesterday we counted down number's ten through six in our list of the "Top Ten Managers In Wrestling History." For those who missed it, click here.

Let's jump right back into the list, starting with number five, the legendary "Classy" Freddie Blassie ...

#5. "Classy" Freddie Blassie

"Classy" Freddie Blassie is another one of a long line of managers who started their careers first as a wrestler. Few managers who doubled as wrestlers earlier in their careers can claim the same success rate as Blassie, who at one point was one of the most famous and hated villians in pro wrestling.

Blassie coined the phrase, "pencil neck geek" and was featured in several movies, one of which was with the legendary Andy Kaufman called "My Breakfast With Blassie."

In addition to a number of pro wrestlers, including "Big" John Studd, George "The Animal" Steele, Hulk Hogan, Ivan Koloff, Jesse "The Body" Ventura and The Iron Sheik, just to name a few, Blassie also famously managed legendary pro boxer and cultural icon Muhammad Ali in his "wrestler vs. boxer" match against Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki. The Ali-Inoki match is considered one of the first and most famous "mixed-martial-arts" matches in history, a style of sports entertainment that would be altered quite a bit, polished up and was later presented by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as the premiere brand of the sport known as MMA.

Jimmy Hart had quite a different background than most guys on this list, as he is the only one who can make the claim that he had a music record that sold over a million units, as the band he was part of, The Gentrys, had a smash-hit called "Keep On Dancin'."

Hart worked early in his career as a heel manager for the Memphis-based pro wrestling territory, managing several high-profile wrestlers in famous matches against Memphis wrestling legend and WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler. Much like Blassie, Hart had some interaction with Andy Kaufman, as he worked alongside him and against him at times during Kaufman's famous pro wrestling stint in Memphis.

Jim Cornette is one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in the history of pro wrestling. Few people in the wrestling industry have as deep a historic knowledge or appreciation for the business as Cornette.

Cornette is famous for carrying a tennis racket to the ring, an object he would use as a weapon in many matches of the guys he was managing. Cornette's early gimmick was that of a rich, spoiled "momma's boy" who was viewed as an over-privileged, fast-talking jerk that fans badly wanted to see get beaten up.

In addition to his managerial career, Cornette served as a high-profile television announcer for promotions such as WCW and WWE, and even worked behind-the-scenes in high-profile positions in both companies. Cornette owned his own territory, "Smokey Mountain Wrestling" at one point during his career.

Cornette had a famous rivalry with fellow legendary wrestling manager, announcer and promoter Paul Heyman early in their careers in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which is the promotion that later became known as WCW.

"The Louisville Slugger" is best known as the manager of the legendary wrestling tag-team The Midnight Express, but also served as the on-air manager of many top performers in the business, such as Big Bubba Rogers (Big Bossman), Jeff Jarrett, Yokozuna, Vader and the tag-team of The British Bulldog and Owen Hart, just to name a few.

Much like Cornette, Paul Heyman is a legendary figure in pro wrestling as not only a manager, but an announcer and promoter as well. Heyman is most famous for being the promoter of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Heyman worked early in his career in Verne Gagne's AWA territory, before later working famous stints in WCW as "Paul E. Dangerously," the leader of the "Dangerous Alliance" faction.

After ECW folded and was bought out by Vince McMahon, Heyman went on to have a famous run in WWE replacing Jerry "The King" Lawler for a brief period as the television announcer alongside WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross. Heyman has also worked as a creative mind...